Mike Wagner

How can voters spot election disinformation as AI makes it easier to create? ERC affiliate @prowag.bsky.social spoke with PBS Wisconsin about manipulated campaign content and why local journalism matters. 🔗 pbswisconsin.org/news-item/mi...

I’ve got a fever. And the only prescription is @mcopelov.bsky.social on the drums!

This was…fun?

BTW this means no funding for GSS, ANES, or PSID. GSS 2026 is in the field now, but then it looks like that's it. Devastating for social science.

This crucial work can help journalists cover elections in ways that serve - rather than undermine - democracy. Useful guidelines and an important mission.

Spice the hill! @uwsjmc.bsky.social uwflamingos.com/leaderboards/

The countdown is on! The flamingos will land on Bascom Hill tomorrow at 5 pm and you'll have 24 hours to support the SJMC. Plus, when we receive 121 gifts, @prowag.bsky.social will brave the heat in our second annual Spice the Hill challenge! Bookmark our giving page: uwflamingos.com/campaign/jou...

Give for the right to see me eat some hot wings! And give to help our amazing students, staff, and faculty do innovative, exciting things to contribute to our community!

Glad to be welcomed to the occupation…

The flamingos are almost here! 🦩 Next week, support our students and share your SJMC pride. Plus, when we reach 121 gifts, Director @prowag.bsky.social will take on the Spice the Hill challenge! 🔥 Learn more and bookmark our giving page at the link below. 🔗 uwflamingos.com/campaign/jou...

The All the President’s Men Ted Lasso thing is marvelous.

My mom had polio when she was five. She was living on a US military base in Japan (1947). Four kids on the base died. She was the only survivor.

Bieber Log, Day 5,847: Did not hear from Bieber.

This election season, our team at the UW Center for an Informed Public will again be working to help people navigate the increasingly convoluted information flows surrounding U.S. Elections. Since 2020, we’ve tracked rumors about voting & election integrity. uwcip.substack.com/p/our-electi...

There was no "censorship industrial compex" under the Biden administration. But the MAGA officials who continue to believe in it have done a lot of damage. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

I have made a terrible mistake.

I have made a terrible mistake.

Calling all SJMC flock-stars! UW's pinkest tradition returns in one month. This year, when we receive 121 gifts, Director @prowag.bsky.social will brave the heat of four super spicy wings in an interview with our Communications Interns! Save the date and learn more: sjmc.wisc.edu/news/flock-o...

The Little Chill

I wrote this because most journalists facing this pressure can’t. The paper we count on to check authoritarianism spiked an investigation into the Democratic Party because the party’s lawyers threatened to sue. Holding authoritarians accountable starts with holding your own side accountable.

A surprise winner in a chaotic primary. charlesatpollsandvotes.substack.com/p/a-look-at-...

Those monsters at Tempur-Pedic. .

How many absentees in Milwaukee County were cast when Crowley was out of the race? Kind of amazing that that detail may affect who wins with WI Democratic primary.

How to pronounce those Wisconsin county names misspronouncer.com/counties/

They’ll put anyone on TV! Good job on MSNOW @bcburden.bsky.social!

When Scott Walker first ran for governor, he dropped out to endorse the eventual nominee, running four years later and winning. David Crowley may have sped up that same process by three years and ten months by dropping out, endorsing the then frontrunner and getting back in the same race.

And to think that I learned on my first day of grad school that it wasn’t rational to vote.

Tiffany’s congressional voting record is pretty far to the right & his running mate is a real social conservative madison.com/news/state-r...

One way to interpret the results as they come in here in Wisconsin is that the Marquette Law School poll hit Hong’s support and the undecideds moved in a wave to Crowley. Not sure if that’s what happened, but it is consistent with the data so far. Older folks were more likely to be undecided.

What a remarkable primary.

New from me: More than a trillion dollars flow through the federal government in grants. We have more and more evidence that the Trump administration has been directing those grants on purely partisan grounds, denying them to blue states. 🧵 donmoynihan.substack.com/p/governing-...

But there’s much more to learn from this rich survey of nearly 26,000 respondents. As with all our surveys, the full dataset is available for additonal scrutiny and analysis. Take a deeper dive here: knightfoundation.org/articles/new...

A new survey from @knightfoundation.org and @ssrsresearch.bsky.social reveals a disquieting decline in how free Americans feel to use the freedoms protected by the #FirstAmendment without government interference or punishment. 🧵

Why do some policies create change while others don’t? Jamila Michener suggests the answer isn’t just policy. It’s whether communities have the power to shape and sustain it. Watch here: youtu.be/gYcQFRYqE4w?...

This May, the Public Tech Media Lab hosted a Digital Investigations Bootcamp, the first hands-on OSINT training program in the Midwest. The bootcamp offered journalists and students the opportunity to gain hands-on practice with a variety of OSINT tools. sjmc.wisc.edu/news/public-...

Excited to participate on the @aejmc panel honoring @dvshah.bsky.social’s innovative scholarship, transformative mentoring, and field building.

Admirable clarity @science.org

The US global dominance in higher ed & scientific innovation was based on strong govt investment and an ability to attract top international talent. Trump is weakening both: "In this century, overall, the émigré fraction for U.S. Nobels in physics, chemistry and medicine now stands at 40 percent."

Mass comm scholars might find parallels to thinking about the information ecology, affordances of different platforms, and institutions in this smart article/provocation.

Trump just fired all three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission, leaving the agency with no commissioners just months before the midterms

Important new article about how we ought to be thinking about and conceptualizing the changing religious landscape in the U.S. from my good friend @bsteens.bsky.social and his collaborators. journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....

Important new article about how we ought to be thinking about and conceptualizing the changing religious landscape in the U.S. from my good friend @bsteens.bsky.social and his collaborators. journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....

It is hard to put the School in better hands than with @prowag.bsky.social. Stellar scholar, empathetic, professional, outstanding mentor, forward looking, good colleague. Wishing you and the SJMC community all the best 👏🏼

I’m very excited to serve the students, faculty, and staff of the SJMC! While higher ed is facing some major challenges, relentless attacks, and helpful criticism, we have major opportunities to expand our path-breaking research, innovative teaching and mentoring, and dedicated public service!

We were excited and inspired to build off the great work of Johanna Dunaway, @joshuadarr.bsky.social and @matthewhitt.bsky.social in this new article.

🚨New research alert! Led by @jianingli.bsky.social, we published in Communication Research “Partisanship in Context: The (A)symmetric Influence of Local Newspaper Availability and Selective Exposure on Political Misperceptions in the U.S.” 1/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00936502261463581